It is Friday, August 6th, and we are at the moment in Roach Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington State. In this corner of Washington State it is hot in August. In the San Juan Islands the mornings start out foggy, and the afternoons require repeated slatherings with SPF 30 or better yet SPF 45 sun screen and there is never so much as a breath of wind. Captain Jack’s almanac indicates that the average rainfall for the whole month of August is about an inch, and that somewhere around ten times in the last 105 years has there even been a measurable trace of rain each day of this first week of August.
Well guess what folks? We have beaten the odds for the last four days running. We have had some rain every day, and today could have easily given us the whole inch of rain for the month of August. Now I am not complaining, mind you. The up-side of all this is we have had no problem with fog, and the wind has been great. Monday, all seven of us jumped in Regal Jug, our 23 foot Aquarius sailboat and sailed all the way from West Beach on Orcas Island to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, a ten mile trip. We had a wonderful wind, and a following current from the “spring ebb tide.” (For the benefit of our less nautical friends, you get spring tides twice a lunar month when the moon is full or when it is new. When the moon gets to half moon stage, either waxing or waning, you have neap tides. Spring tides are vigorous, and neap tides are very gentle. End of lesson.) Once in Friday Harbor, we went grocery shopping for supplies for the rest of the week. We also picked up a crab pot for our grandsons. Then we turned around and sailed all the way back to West Beach; again with near perfect winds and a following spring flood tide. Wednesday, we repeated this process, only we went to Roach Harbor on the North end of San Juan Island. Same thing this time, terrific winds and following currents. I realize by now this story is getting boring, because again on Thursday, we just adjusted our time a little and sailed North to the Island of Sucia. This is very close to the Canadian border. Fossil Bay was very busy and we were unable to get a spot on the dock, but some very nice folks, Bob and Joy, let us raft up next to them on a 48 foot power boat. We walked all around Sucia Island for about two hours, had our lunch and then sailed back to West Beach. We sailed four miles on one tack with our lee rail almost in the water. I mean if sailors have a heaven it has to be just like this. Now one of our crew was just a little apprehensive. Barb, our daughter-in-law, seems to have left deep dents all around the boat where she was hanging on for dear life, lest the boat tip over. Now all three of these days the rain mostly participated on us in the odd hours of the night. Today, Friday, our luck ran out. Just before six this morning, the rain started pelting down. The camp-site was drenched, the boat was wet and the windows in the boat started leaking. Glen and Barb and the boys pulled up stakes, and headed for the ferry. We spent a leisurely hour having breakfast and stowing all the gear that had been used over the last several days, and then we too headed out in the Regal Jug. We motored about a mile before the winds started filling in once again. Up came the sail and we were starting to enjoy ourselves when the rain started coming down hard. We reached Roach Harbor after two hours of very wet sailing. Once we were in our slip, we hooked up to shore power and we have had our little heater running full blast all afternoon to dry out the boat. We also got the laundry done.
Just now the harbor conducted their daily “evening colors, ceremony. It is quite spectacular. It included the Jamaican flag and anthem, the Washington State flag, the Canadian Flag and anthem, the British flag and anthem and then after a cannon salute they played taps as they retired the US flag. It is a very stirring ceremony.
An old sailors adage is “Red at night, sailors’ delight.” We just enjoyed a beautiful “red” sunset, and the weather forecast is for less rain and more sun. whoopee!